Following a year of community listening sessions and workgroup meetings, the Massachusetts Healthy Aging Collaborative was proud to join state leaders and partners in announcing the ReiMAgine Aging 2030 Plan during Older Americans Month in May. The plan is a refreshed and updated version of the original statewide age- and dementia friendly plan from 2019.

Massachusetts was the first in the nation with a state-level age- and dementia friendly action plan and continues to be on the forefront with a growing list of states promoting community-informed goals and strategies. The new plan features six aspirational goals, 34 strategies and actions, and uplifts impactful work in progress all over the Commonwealth.

At the same announcement, which took place the Plymouth Council on Aging, Governor Maura Healey’s administration added action to the ReiMAgine Aging release to also sign Executive Order #642: Instituting Age-Friendly Practices. This directive will embed age-friendly policies and policies across all Executive offices with the partnership of various secretaries and their staff.

Older Americans Month began with another highly-anticipated announcement, which was the release of the Healthy Aging Data Reports and Community Profiles. This extensive and in-depth set of data resources contains downloadable and interactive maps along with a healthy aging data profile of all 351 cities and towns in Massachusetts. MHAC is grateful to the research team of Dr. Beth Dugan at the UMass-Boston Gerontology Institute and the Point32Health Foundation for supporting data that accelerates and strengthens the age- and dementia friendly movement. The data is used for local, regional and state planning that helps include older adults in a range of initiatives across issue areas, advocacy for policy and funding at a state and local level, raising awareness of issues and opportunities for older adults and for grant applications that advance age- and dementia friendly efforts.

MHAC promoted the new state plan and data reports in countless interactions with communities, organizational partners, and government partners, including presentations at conferences and meetings. These included the Gerontological Society of America (GSA) Annual Scientific Meeting, various events hosted by Massachusetts Councils on Aging (MCOA) and local councils on aging, the MassDOT Moving Together Conference and the Massachusetts Rural Policy Advisory Council (RPAC).

MHAC received funding support from Point32Health Foundation in 2025 for its work to continue, and also supported a refreshed strategic plan for the Collaborative. This past year, our new vision, mission and goals (listed below) were completed with the coordination of Oomer Coaching and Consulting and the partnership of the MHAC Executive Committee:

Vision: Every community in Massachusetts is a great place to grow up and grow older.
Mission: Support and connect communities to promote age- and dementia friendly practices, plans and policies.
Goals:

• Connect communities to resources, support, and funding to achieve community-informed goals.
• Advocate for the adoption of aging in all policies and plans.
• Reframe aging narratives to value older adults.
• Advance equity in aging

On a community level, three regional and collaborative partnerships joined the age-friendly movement in 2025. These new regional initiatives, covering nearly 60 cities and towns, support local and multi-community initiatives that promote physical and social environment improvements to advance healthy aging. They included Healthy Aging Cape Cod (15 communities), Old Colony Planning Council (17 communities), and Healthy Equity Partnership of North Central Mass/CHNA-9 (27 communities). In all, more than 275 communities are covered by an active age-and dementia friendly regional initiative and MHAC works with partners to offer support to these locally-informed and locally-led efforts.

Other current age- and dementia friendly communities have made great progress, including Age- and Dementia Friendly Franklin County/North Quabbin, Age-and Dementia Friendly Pioneer Valley, Metropolitan Area Planning Council, Healthy Aging Martha’s Vineyard (HAMV), Age-Friendly Central Mass (CMRPC), and Age & Dementia Friendly Connections (SeniorCare, Inc.).

With some additional highlights listed below, MHAC remains grateful for the leadership and guidance of its Executive Committee as well as the involvement, input and partnership of its Statewide Network. MHAC thanks its key supporters and collaborators, including Massachusetts Councils on Aging Association, Executive Office of Aging and Independence (AGE), AARP Massachusetts, Point32Health Foundation and AgeSpan.

Other 2025 MHAC Highlights:

• Continued leadership, alongside a range of partners, in promoting digital equity among older adults:
  • The Digital Equity Partnerships Program, funded by Mass Broadband Institute and managed by AgeSpan with support from MHAC, has engaged more than 3,700 older adults in gaining basic tech skills.
  • The Enhancing Digital Literacy for Older Adults Playbook was released by AGE based on programs and lessons-learned from a two-year ARPA-funded grant program. MHAC provided technical assistance to the 24 councils on aging grantees and their partners. MHAC also consulted on the playbook’s development. The program served more than 3,000 older adults in 69 communities.
  • MHAC cohosts quarterly virtual meetings of the Technology Learning Collaborative for Healthy Aging with the Executive Office of Aging and Independence. These meetings help to share best practices, raise awareness of advocacy initiatives, promote funding opportunities and connect potential collaborators.
  • MHAC supported legislative initiatives to establish affordable broadband and a commission to explore credentialing for digital navigators.
• MHAC served on the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities’ Senior Housing Commission as the designee of the Executive Office of Aging and Independence Secretary. The Affordable Homes Act created this commission to recommend policy, programs, and other investments to expand the supply of housing for older adults.
• MHAC continued to lead work on developing an updated toolkit to support working caregivers in partnership with the Mass Caregiver Coalition based at the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development. The project is funded with a grant from Community Catalyst.
• MHAC partnered with Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation to promote positive framing of older adults and older workers in the 2025 Massachusetts Competitiveness Index, which is an annual report on the strength of the state’s economy.
• MHAC promoted “Age-Friendly Funding Alerts” representing tens of millions in potential funding support that could cover improvements in housing, transportation, digital equity, arts and culture and more. MHAC also shared examples on our blog of how grant programs can be age-friendly, including:
  • “MassTrails Grant Awards Support Projects Including Older Adults”
  • “$15 Million Awarded through the Community Transit Grant Program”
  • “MassDOT Announces $6.8 Million in Shared Streets & Spaces Program Awards”
  • “ Healthy Aging Collaborative Receives Grant from the Philanthropic Arm of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care and Tufts Health Plan, Point32Health Foundation”
  • “AARP Announces Community Challenge Grant Awardees”

• The Boston Globe published an MHAC letter to the editor in response to an article titled, “Empty Nesters are Not Flying the Coop.” The article essentially blamed older adults for exacerbating a housing shortage by living longer, aging in community, and not having options to downsize.
• MHAC continues to share data and research that can be informative to age- and dementia friendly efforts on a local, regional and statewide scale, including:
  • “New Report ‘Caring Across States’ Reveals Differences in Caregiving Experience”
  • “WalkMassachusetts Report: Pedestrian Deaths Continue to Disproportionately Impact Older Adults, People with Disabilities and EJ Communities”
  • “JCHS at Harvard Releases Report on ‘Dual Burden’ of Housing and Care for Older Adults”
  • “Longevity and Income Disparities Highlighted in Report from LTSS Center @UMass-Boston, NCOA”
• In 2025, MHAC served on various commissions, coalitions and workgroups, including:
  • EOHLC Senior Housing Commission
  • Massachusetts Pedestrian and Bicycle Advisory Board (MABPAB)
  • Greater Boston MPO Vision Zero Task Force
  • Pioneer Valley Planning Commission Age-Friendly Advisory Committee
  • MassDOT Access and Mobility Working Group
  • Elder Identity Theft Coalition
  • Public Health Alliance Policy Council
  • Make Hunger History Coalition
  • Task Force to End Loneliness and Build Community

We look forward to continuing our work to grow the age- and dementia friendly movement alongside our network of communities and partners.

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